Friday, July 1, 2011

The 4th of July is traditionally percieved as a pretty chill Holiday characterized by BBQ's, beaches, and other summer diversions. I've had some pretty amazing things happen over the 4th of July weekend over the past several years so traditionally my own experience hasn't been quite that quiet.

I've got a friend visiting from Phoenix and we're going to do some tourist stuff around Charleston. We're going to the David Gray concert here tonight (I LOVE David Gray - the last time I saw him I was living in Austin). A trip to the beach is in our future, as is a trip to the fitness center.

Somebody has tried to characterize my opinions on changing personal identification documents and Birth Certificates by belittling them and seems to want to find an opportunity to spat. I do not spat. I generally avoid letting myself get dragged into philosophical arguments about opinions, but I want to re-state what I believe here so that there is no confusion:

Drivers License, Passports and other identification documents should be changed with the appropriate non-surgical documentation. HOWEVER, Birth Certificates are different and should require some level of medical intervention for modification. It doesn't have to be SRS (orchi or other FTM procedures would qualify in my book), but a letter from a psych is not enough.

That's my opinion. Others may agree or disagree but that doesn't change it. It may or may not be popular but that doesn't change it either. I'm not looking to solve all the inequities in the world, solve world hunger, or otherwise imply that I'm smarter than anyone else because I admit at the outset that I'm not. I am simply sharing my own beliefs and others can respect that or not. I really don't care either way.

My own history of activism advocates that a more effective strategy is to normalize the procedures that constitute "treatment" for trans-related issues as more than cosmetic procedures rather than to expect that people (trans or not) should be allowed to change their Birth Documentation simply because.

That's that.

Another thing I'd enjoy this weekend: a deep muscle massage. The muscles between my shoulder blades are as lumpy as week old gruel. I'll see if I can't find some time to fit it in. :)